I was above tree line two years ago in the Dolomites and a storm hammered my MLD Duomid. It stood up to 3-4 hours of high winds and heavy rain. I felt like it was on the very edge of it’s ability to stay up. When I see your video I don’t think you did anything wrong in your door position or your pitch. It can be seen clearly in the video that is some nasty swirling wind pressing in on your Trailstar and I think any shelter and most tents would have come down in that situation. After my experience in the Duomid, I took my Trailstar to the Dolomites last year and will take it again this year. Your video is a great documentary on what can happen out there. Thanks for sharing this and if any high winds are expected I will pitch low with as much cover as possible. Or maybe I’ll just get inside a bivacco 😉
When I bought my Trailstar, one suggested pitch, I think on the MLD website, was one pole only and all five corners down. No doorway. Entrance and exit by loosening a guy. I have never tried this but it might give a windproof shelter without having to lower the pole to 80cm, which sounds at least as awkward as no door and a taller pole to me. No cooking in either pitch, I'd have thought. BTW, the old, 30D Trailstar does bow in but it does it gracefully, allowing gusts to pass on by, without giving hard lines for the wind to grip on. I wonder whether the new fabric will do that. I love the easy access to water you have in this video's pitch. Very convenient.
Yes I think the 20d bowed in more and as you say the wind has something to tug on . I'm not sure you can pitch to ground all corners on higher pitch 🤔 good question. I've heard it can be done but not sure height. Love a different pitch 😆 the new model out soon is in silpoly so that will definitely be interesting. I asked Ron to send me one and a cricket in poly
Interesting video Tony. As I've replied on Chris's blog, I've experienced similar conditions at other "Corrie tarns". There's no doubt in my mind that you can get unusual wind conditions at those locations. Thanks for posting the video with your thought processes. Cheers Alistair 👍
Great video Tony, good analysis, we've all been there, I've had my mountain hardware trango fail in a crazy Scottish weather, a Ultimate tramp fail, vango hurricane fail, lanshan fail the good thing is we use our experience to overcome these mishaps and have a good time doing it. I've had my trailstar out in 50mph winds in a constant direction with no problem, like you say several forces were at play and we learn from our experiences. Cheers Lee
Fair do’s. 20/20 hindsight is a fantastic thing. Knowing when to pull the plug and pack up was in my view a good call. Yes you’d possibly have been ok. But possibly you wouldn’t. Not worth the risk. On a completely separate note, that water feature was outstanding. In over 40 years of hiking I’ve seen nothing that comes close. Unfortunately I’d have been up all night wanting a pee 😂
I thought the recent pic posted by MLD that mentioned silpoly was an April fool! I'll be interested to hear your thoughts when it arrives. 😊 I caught up with the Slower Hiker post on wind and tent performance today after reading Chris T's post. Fascinating stuff
Yes apparently everything in MLD except the big stuff is switching to silpoly so given the less stretch it'll be interesting how it pitches vs silnylon in the ts esp given tricky cuben but Ron says 98% should either be fine with it or just need a bit of help. I'm guessing 2% will be hopeless pitchers and should stick to a tent or get duomid etc lol he's sending me a cricket too lol so that will be fun to look at.
@@TonyHobbs I have a silpoly tarp from Warnonnet that I use with my hammock. It pitches beautifully and doesn't develop slack overnight like some silnylon shelters... although I am yet to encounter any significant sag in my TS.
Hindsight is a great thing but learning from the mistakes is even better.the trouble with tarns in bowles like that is the wind turns into a vortex which often strengthens it like a Venturi effect.having said all that using that type of shelter at 45+mph winds isn't the probably isn't the best thing to do
Exactly and is why I sought the shelter of tarn vs tops lol 😆 😂 😅 good one sherlock 😆 Although it will survive over 50mph and that appears to be genuinely documented not this made up crap we get occasionally 😉
Brutally honest No I think worse. It's possible probable the door linelock coming off might not have been so clean and might have torn material. Not sure. But possible. The apex tear might not have happened but high door definitely a compromise waiting to happen on cuben. Imo.
I’ve had a Trailstar for a long time and 85cm or so was my go to for a very low crawl in style pitch. Many, many years ago there was a video on line of a Trailstar failing in high winds. The user attributed it to the wind producing a pumping effect that resulted the linelocs releasing their tension resulting in the shelter collapsing and ripping. Can’t find the video now but it may still be out there somewhere in the ether.
That was Daves wild camping and yes I remember the episode well. As we can see it won't rip ie the material won't or unlikely.... What happened with his is a bit unknown (maybe pole tip or something he did but didnt own up to who knows) and I believe imo and no disrespect to him may ge RIP but it was the usual film like now all hyped and quick with zero info or inward looking indeed it was just him under shelter complaining it ripped rantingaway the joke was daves wild ranting.... The guess from those outside was maybe he'd threaded the line locks incorrectly (although we can see under certain situations they can slip but if he'd pitched his incorrectly like mine was ie high door it's not a surprise) most are sensible enough or remember 😉 to lower it! He just filmed a quick dark rant about it and that was it. It seems generally by those that use it correctly low its very storm worthy. He also tented like today's idiots to go out in ridiculous view endusing weather .... 🙄 😉 anyway yes it was a bit of a thing way back when these first came out like today's muppets let's get something new and try to wreck it videos. He went out and filmed and camped in the most ridiculous weather's for views. This lot today think they the first idiots to get views in shit weather like I've been using lightweight and cuben for years when this lot think its the new thing he was storm chasing before this lot were out of nappies 😆
Thanks. You are the world’s leading Tstar historian 😂 and I had always wondered about the origin of that video. I have been a happy Tstar user for many years but never had to test it in really strong winds. I did test pitch a Duomid in very windy conditions (I live in one of the worlds windiest places) and was alarmed by how much the pole flexed. Sometimes the wind is just too strong and it only takes one gust. I broke a pole of a three pole geodesic tent in the tail end of a cyclone.
@pleopod lol 😆 tbf the duomid is OK in wind but I'd not want it in too windy conditions with big panels front back. Better than Durston but no trailstar lol 😆 yeah it was long ago when making videos camping was the sole sport of half a dozen of us now literally every muppet picks up a phone and films themselves thinking they the first and most expert 🙄 😆 They are soft flexible shelters not brick chicken houses end of day even those twenty pole made out of camel hide still isn't a brick building lol 😆
Watching the fatal gust over your shoulder making it’s way across the water before tearing through the trailstar was pretty spectacular. 😮 How do you thing DCF Trailstar would have managed. Would the lack stretch made it more vulnerable to failure from That gust? Stephen
Yes I got lucky or unlucky 🤔 to catch that on film 😆 In that exact position probably would have torn cuben ts off too and maybe but difficult to say how reinforcements would have held might have torn more of shelter. It might have held but that high door mmmm wishful thinking. Positioned properly it might have been OK but the issue is its not that easy to get it very tight. Let's say with that I'm glad I had silnylon 😆 I think I need to get the cuben out again for investigations lol
I was above tree line two years ago in the Dolomites and a storm hammered my MLD Duomid. It stood up to 3-4 hours of high winds and heavy rain. I felt like it was on the very edge of it’s ability to stay up. When I see your video I don’t think you did anything wrong in your door position or your pitch. It can be seen clearly in the video that is some nasty swirling wind pressing in on your Trailstar and I think any shelter and most tents would have come down in that situation. After my experience in the Duomid, I took my Trailstar to the Dolomites last year and will take it again this year. Your video is a great documentary on what can happen out there. Thanks for sharing this and if any high winds are expected I will pitch low with as much cover as possible. Or maybe I’ll just get inside a bivacco 😉
Great comment thanks 😊 all great experiences
When I bought my Trailstar, one suggested pitch, I think on the MLD website, was one pole only and all five corners down. No doorway. Entrance and exit by loosening a guy. I have never tried this but it might give a windproof shelter without having to lower the pole to 80cm, which sounds at least as awkward as no door and a taller pole to me. No cooking in either pitch, I'd have thought. BTW, the old, 30D Trailstar does bow in but it does it gracefully, allowing gusts to pass on by, without giving hard lines for the wind to grip on. I wonder whether the new fabric will do that. I love the easy access to water you have in this video's pitch. Very convenient.
Yes I think the 20d bowed in more and as you say the wind has something to tug on . I'm not sure you can pitch to ground all corners on higher pitch 🤔 good question. I've heard it can be done but not sure height. Love a different pitch 😆 the new model out soon is in silpoly so that will definitely be interesting. I asked Ron to send me one and a cricket in poly
Interesting video Tony. As I've replied on Chris's blog, I've experienced similar conditions at other "Corrie tarns". There's no doubt in my mind that you can get unusual wind conditions at those locations.
Thanks for posting the video with your thought processes.
Cheers Alistair 👍
Thank you
Yea it was an experience. At least I am trying to broaden my horizon from dartmoor all the time lol
@@TonyHobbs it's a long old drive for you Tony!
Yes a trek to the lakes unfortunately and even further to Scotland
Dartmoor is like home 😆
Great video Tony, good analysis, we've all been there, I've had my mountain hardware trango fail in a crazy Scottish weather, a Ultimate tramp fail, vango hurricane fail, lanshan fail the good thing is we use our experience to overcome these mishaps and have a good time doing it.
I've had my trailstar out in 50mph winds in a constant direction with no problem, like you say several forces were at play and we learn from our experiences.
Cheers Lee
Thank you yes its a fab shelter 😊
Fair do’s. 20/20 hindsight is a fantastic thing. Knowing when to pull the plug and pack up was in my view a good call. Yes you’d possibly have been ok. But possibly you wouldn’t. Not worth the risk. On a completely separate note, that water feature was outstanding. In over 40 years of hiking I’ve seen nothing that comes close. Unfortunately I’d have been up all night wanting a pee 😂
Gotta love a odd pitch lol
Tony thanks for sharing lessons learned. Bottom line shit happens.
I thought the recent pic posted by MLD that mentioned silpoly was an April fool! I'll be interested to hear your thoughts when it arrives. 😊 I caught up with the Slower Hiker post on wind and tent performance today after reading Chris T's post. Fascinating stuff
Yes apparently everything in MLD except the big stuff is switching to silpoly so given the less stretch it'll be interesting how it pitches vs silnylon in the ts esp given tricky cuben but Ron says 98% should either be fine with it or just need a bit of help. I'm guessing 2% will be hopeless pitchers and should stick to a tent or get duomid etc lol he's sending me a cricket too lol so that will be fun to look at.
@@TonyHobbs I have a silpoly tarp from Warnonnet that I use with my hammock. It pitches beautifully and doesn't develop slack overnight like some silnylon shelters... although I am yet to encounter any significant sag in my TS.
Hindsight is a great thing but learning from the mistakes is even better.the trouble with tarns in bowles like that is the wind turns into a vortex which often strengthens it like a Venturi effect.having said all that using that type of shelter at 45+mph winds isn't the probably isn't the best thing to do
Exactly and is why I sought the shelter of tarn vs tops lol 😆 😂 😅 good one sherlock 😆
Although it will survive over 50mph and that appears to be genuinely documented not this made up crap we get occasionally 😉
Tony would your Cuben have survived better?
Brutally honest
No
I think worse.
It's possible probable the door linelock coming off might not have been so clean and might have torn material. Not sure. But possible. The apex tear might not have happened but high door definitely a compromise waiting to happen on cuben. Imo.
I’ve had a Trailstar for a long time and 85cm or so was my go to for a very low crawl in style pitch. Many, many years ago there was a video on line of a Trailstar failing in high winds. The user attributed it to the wind producing a pumping effect that resulted the linelocs releasing their tension resulting in the shelter collapsing and ripping. Can’t find the video now but it may still be out there somewhere in the ether.
That was Daves wild camping and yes I remember the episode well. As we can see it won't rip ie the material won't or unlikely.... What happened with his is a bit unknown (maybe pole tip or something he did but didnt own up to who knows) and I believe imo and no disrespect to him may ge RIP but it was the usual film like now all hyped and quick with zero info or inward looking indeed it was just him under shelter complaining it ripped rantingaway the joke was daves wild ranting.... The guess from those outside was maybe he'd threaded the line locks incorrectly (although we can see under certain situations they can slip but if he'd pitched his incorrectly like mine was ie high door it's not a surprise) most are sensible enough or remember 😉 to lower it! He just filmed a quick dark rant about it and that was it. It seems generally by those that use it correctly low its very storm worthy. He also tented like today's idiots to go out in ridiculous view endusing weather .... 🙄 😉 anyway yes it was a bit of a thing way back when these first came out like today's muppets let's get something new and try to wreck it videos. He went out and filmed and camped in the most ridiculous weather's for views. This lot today think they the first idiots to get views in shit weather like I've been using lightweight and cuben for years when this lot think its the new thing he was storm chasing before this lot were out of nappies 😆
Thanks. You are the world’s leading Tstar historian 😂 and I had always wondered about the origin of that video. I have been a happy Tstar user for many years but never had to test it in really strong winds. I did test pitch a Duomid in very windy conditions (I live in one of the worlds windiest places) and was alarmed by how much the pole flexed. Sometimes the wind is just too strong and it only takes one gust. I broke a pole of a three pole geodesic tent in the tail end of a cyclone.
@pleopod lol 😆 tbf the duomid is OK in wind but I'd not want it in too windy conditions with big panels front back. Better than Durston but no trailstar lol 😆 yeah it was long ago when making videos camping was the sole sport of half a dozen of us now literally every muppet picks up a phone and films themselves thinking they the first and most expert 🙄 😆
They are soft flexible shelters not brick chicken houses end of day even those twenty pole made out of camel hide still isn't a brick building lol 😆
Watching the fatal gust over your shoulder making it’s way across the water before tearing through the trailstar was pretty spectacular. 😮
How do you thing DCF Trailstar would have managed. Would the lack stretch made it more vulnerable to failure from That gust?
Stephen
Yes I got lucky or unlucky 🤔 to catch that on film 😆
In that exact position probably would have torn cuben ts off too and maybe but difficult to say how reinforcements would have held might have torn more of shelter. It might have held but that high door mmmm wishful thinking. Positioned properly it might have been OK but the issue is its not that easy to get it very tight. Let's say with that I'm glad I had silnylon 😆 I think I need to get the cuben out again for investigations lol
But somewhere more relaxing 😆
Solomid xl ?
No lol in title ;) 😉